What: A casual but slick subterranean bar and restaurant underneath recently-launched Glasgow restaurant Margo. Seating 80 in total, Sebb’s combines great cocktails with an approachable-priced menu of punchy small plates that nearly always feature ingredients that have been cooked over an open flame.
Who: Scoop Restaurants started life when chefs Jonathan MacDonald and Daniel Spurr launched Ox and Finch in Glasgow’s popular Kelvingrove in 2014 (the group’s flagship is temporarily closed for a refurbishment but will reopen later this year). Since then, the pair have launched the Asia-inspired Ka Pao in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. Margo opened in October last year cementing MacDonald and Spurr’s status as Glasgow’s most exciting restaurant operators. The kitchen at Sebb’s is headed by Danny Carruthers, whose CV includes now closed Glasgow fine dining restaurant Brian Maule at Chardon d’Or. Sebb’s cocktail programme is being overseen by its general manager Kieran McKay and Scoop head of drinks Alasdair Shaw.
The food: Carruthers' menu is adventurous and precisely executed. Options include grilled Carlingford oysters with spiced lamb fat; pakora with Lord of the Hundreds and piccalilli; hot hummus with white onion, parsley and grilled banana chilli; chicken wings with fermented hot sauce and ranch; and jerk-spiced pork neck with celeriac and apple. Prices are restrained with most small plates around the £10 mark.
To drink: The cocktail list at Sebb’s is creative-yet-accessible with signature drinks including White Linen Fizz (rum, yuzushu sake, elderflower, jasmine, absinthe); Miso Old Fashioned (miso and brown butter whisky with passionfruit, garnished with miso fudge); and a terrific cross between a Gimlet and a Bloody Mary made with gin, apple, celery and tomato and garnished with a heavy-duty homemade togarashi. There’s are also an expansive selection of classic cocktails and a wine programme that is focused on tap pours.
The vibe: Sebb’s looks like a cross between a dive bar and a diner with design details including a characterful vaulted brick ceiling, booth seating and accents of coloured tiles. There are 68 cover in the main dining area and a further dozen in the PDR, The Record Room. Some tables are available to book but space is always left for walk-ins.
And another thing: Sebb’s has absolutely nailed it with the music, hosting some of Glasgow’s best-known DJs. Thanks to a state-of-the-art sound system the music is central to the experience but not to the extent you can’t hear yourself think. “We want the music to be the heartbeat of the space, setting the vibe but not dominating the experience,” says Sebb’s music programme curator Ryan Kane. “There’s nothing worse than going to a bar where you can’t have a conversation.” Amen to that.
68B Miller Street, Glasgow G1 1DT
